Address:
104 West Front Street
Bloomington, IL 61702
Phone:
309-888-5065
The devices are similar to common handheld tablets, but are made exclusively by GettingOut, a GTL / Viapath company.
Tablets offer specialized content and services for inmates to use during their stay at McLean County Detention Center, such as:
- Free services are already available for use on the device at McLean County Detention Center.
- Subscription services are funded separately by family and friends with deposits made into an inmate’s Debit Link account.
- McLean County Detention Center Inmates will then be able to purchase subscription services and premium content to enjoy.
What Does a Tablet Cost?
To estimate costs for phone calls, sign in to your account and click “Rate & Fees Calculator” in the footer (bottom of the page) or call 866-516-0115 for assistance.
You can find information about the McLean County Detention Center’s tablet program at the top of this page. If there is no information about it, it is because they either have recently changed companies or are not yet providing this service for inmates. Call 309-888-5065 to confirm.
Inmates in jails and prisons are using tablets for all the communication services available such as video visitation, video phone calls, regular phone calls, and electronic messaging – which is like texting and email.
Tablets are also used for entertainment, such as watching movies, television shows, listening to music and reading e-books. It is also used for education, self-help information, and legal research.
No, they are not connected to the internet. All the messages, visits and programming goes through a system controlled by the company that provides the tablets, and through the jail. They control what each inmate sees. All messages are carefully screened and not delivered if the sender or the inmate violates jail policy.
For accessing visits and messages, the tablets are free to us. Each unit has many of them, all provided by the company that has contracted with the jail. Of course, the video visits and messages have a fee and those are paid for by the inmate’s family and friends who use the service.
That’s the question a lot of people ask and don’t fully understand.
The way the jail staff looks at it, is that if they can keep the inmates busy and distracted, it makes it safer for them.
Tablets also give them a certain power over controller an inmate’s behavior. For example, if an inmate knows that they will lose the privilege of having access to a tablet if they get into a fight or violate another rule or policy, they will be better behaved.
Tablets are one of the few things that make an inmate feel as though they are free, and they don’t want to lose the privilege of having access to one.
CIDNET
City Tele Coin
Gettingout
GTL
Homewav
IC Solutions
Inmate Sales
JailATM
J Pay
NCIC
Oasis
Paytel
Reliance
Securus
Smart Communications
Yes, if an inmate breaks a tablet, then they are responsible for paying for it. The money will come out of their commissary funds, so not only do they lose access to having a tablet as punishment, but they also won’t be able to purchase snacks on commissary.
Because McLean County and Illinois can change their bail bond procedures, it is always best to call either the McLean County Detention Center at 309-888-5065, or the court in the jurisdiction (i.e. Municipal Court, District Court, etc.) where the offender was charged, and do this right after an arrestee has been booked.
Ask the staff at the McLean County Detention Center or the McLean County Court Clerk these specific questions:
If you feel the bail is too high and you wish to get it reduced, contact a lawyer or the defendant's public defender and get them to look into what they can do to get a bail reduction. The sooner you get working on this the quicker you will get your loved one released.
This entire process will go smoother and faster with a criminal attorney or bail agent handling it for you.
Postcards
The McLean County Detention Center allows inmates to receive pre-metered postcards like the type purchased from the post office. They may also allow certain photo postcards as long as they have not been tampered with or contain images that may be considered to be obscene or violent in nature.
Envelopes
The McLean County Detention Center also allows envelopes to be mailed to inmates.
Postcards and envelopes MUST be mailed to the following address:
Inmate's Full Name & Inmate ID#
McLean County Jail, Illinois
P.O. Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131
Legal Mail
Send all legal Mail to this Address:
Inmate's Full Name & Inmate ID#
McLean County Detention Center
104 West Front Street
Bloomington, IL 61702
Newspapers
Local or national newspapers may also be mailed to the inmate as long as they are mailed directly from the newspaper publisher.
Magazines
News, special interest or sports magazines may also be mailed to an inmate as long as they are shipped directly from the publisher. Any magazines that contain profanity, weapons, pornography or other content that is adult in nature will be confiscated by the jail staff and will NOT be delivered to the inmate.
Books
The McLean County Detention Center allows books to be mailed directly to the jail from a reputable source such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million. You can order them directly from your computer and have them shipped to the inmate at the address below.
Books must NOT contain images or content that are considered excessively violent, pornographic or obscene. Any book that does not meet the McLean County Detention Center standards will be disposed of. No more than three books may be shipped at any one time.
Hard cover books will not be accepted by the jail due to their potential to be used as a weapon.
All newspapers, magazines and books are to be shipped to:
Inmate's Full Name & Inmate ID#
McLean County Detention Center
104 West Front Street
Bloomington, IL 61702
TextBehind enables you to communicate with your incarcerated loved ones located inside the United States from anywhere in the world using text letters, kids' drawings, and custom greeting cards. Unlimited inmate reply letters are processed for electronic delivery to your smartphone and email at no extra charge.
The cost to send an electronic letter is approximately $1.00.
Here’s how it works for McLean County Detention Center:
1. All offender mail (paper and electronic) is addressed and delivered to TextBehind. Electronic mail is sent through the apps (iphone, Google Play). Paper mail is sent to the address below:
Inmate Name and Inmate Number
McLean County Detention Center Illinois (note: please do not abbreviate the name)
P.O. Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131
2. If it was sent via TextBehind's app (iphone, Google Play), TextBehind can process it within one business day.
3. An additional step is involved in processing mail that is sent using the U.S. Postal Service. TextBehind will use a scanner to make digital files of the contents of the mailing—including cards, photos or artwork.
4. All digital files are then forwarded to the offender’s assigned prison.
5. McLean County Detention Center mailroom prints approved pages and delivers them to the inmate.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
Here’s what happens when TextBehind receives a letter from an inmate:
YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS...
IMPORTANT TextBehind LINKS:
Register / Log in with TextBehind
Contact TextBehind with Questions
Add an Inmate to your list of Contacts
** Address to Mail letters using TextBehind **
Inmate Name and Inmate Number
McLean County Detention Center Illinois (note: please do not abbreviate the name)
P.O. Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131
Why is TextBehind used by Lockups?
Due to the problem of letters and postcards containing, or soaked in contraband (drugs), TextBehind electronic and physical letters is replacing the former policy of allowing mail to be sent directly from inmate’s friends and family members, and vice versa.
To send commissary money to an inmate in McLean County Detention Center follow these steps:
For all information on how to Send Money to an inmate's account check out our full money and commissary guide for McLean County Detention Center.
How to Make a Deposit for Phone, Email or Visitation using GettingOut.com
McLean County Detention Center uses GettingOut for some or all of its communication services with an inmate.
If you want to deposit money using this company for your use or your inmate's account, there are four ways to do it:
For all the information you need to know, including tips, guidelines and warnings about depositing money in a McLean County Detention Center inmate's account for communication services, check out our Send Money page.
To find out how to get access to a tablet for inmate read the following:
1. First, Register or Sign In to GettingOut/GTL
2. Purchase the services you want for your McLean County Detention Center inmate.
3. All inmates have free access to the tablets to read their letters from family & friends, but there are many other services available to keep your inmate busy while incarcerated... such as Games, Books, Music and Movies. These other services come with fees that you can pay for when you pay for phone service.
To learn more about Tablet Rentals for inmates, including the cost, all the services available and everything else you need to know, check out our Tablet Rental Page.
To mail or email an inmate in McLean County follow these steps:
When mailing a letter or postcard to an inmate, please follow these instructions:
Emailing Messages & Photos
Facility_name_1} contracts with GTL GettingOut, the same service that handles iInmate Phone Systems and Video Visitation, for sending secure messages and photos between you and your inmate.
If you are not already registered, do so here, or Log in.
Then use the Facility Finder to:
1. Select McLean County Detention Center,
2. Add your inmate to your list of contacts,
3. Add a credit or debit card to cover your costs.
Customer Service Questions
'Online' Contact Form, or
Call 866-516-0115
Go here to this FAQ to get answers to how the transition to ViaPath from GTL and gettingout will affect your account.
All the information you need to understand mail and email policies for McLean County can be found on our Inmate Mail Page and our Text/Email an Inmate Page.
To receive phone calls from inmates in McLean County, or to assist them in making phone calls to other people, follow these steps:
Note: All your calls with an inmate are recorded, stored and shared with law enforcement if the conversation deals with your case or any criminal activity. Anything communicated can be used against you or your inmate in court.
For all the information regarding phone calls with McLean County inmates; rules, policies, phone calling times, limits and more visit our Inmate Phone Page.
To visit an inmate in McLean County follow these steps:
For full instructions on all the benefits of using IC Solutions to visit a McLean County inmate, visiting an inmate at the jail itself, rates, policies, rules, dress codes, bringing children, attorney and clergy visits and more, go to our official Visit Inmate Page.